Craft Photography Fundamentals

Lesson 36 of 38

Editing Jewelry in Lightroom

Craft Photography Fundamentals

Lesson 36 of 38

Editing Jewelry in Lightroom

Lesson Info

Editing Jewelry in Lightroom

Okay, so I'm picking this out of these four. I like the lighting better here and I would like to use that but my aperture was a little bit more closed and the wrinkles show in the background. I could like very carefully clone that out but it'd be really annoying. So, I'm probably gonna pick one of these. Probably this one. I need to update Lightroom. (laughs) So, I would chose that. I'm gonna straighten it out 'cause my horizon line's not straight. Right in there. And this is the case I can already tell where I was like slightly askew. So, the left hand side is closer to me than the right hand side so, I'm gonna fix that first before I fix the color because it would bug me. Perspective is a really big, important thing that a lot of people don't think about. So, it's just a slight adjustment. Probably at five, maybe a little bit less. Maybe three. And it's already better to me. Okay, so, obviously the exposure is too dark so, we're really gonna brighten this one up. And then we're gonna...

add in some contrast. Do you see how that really starts to separate it out from the background? So, we're gonna do that. We're gonna darken our shadows a little bit. Brighten our whites. So, I'm always just adding like a little bit of contrast in the way and I'm gonna bring in the saturation a little bit so that those beads really start to stand out and then I'm going to use this brush again, but for a very different reason. This time I want this bead to come back in. I feel like I'm losing it and I want it in. So, instead of having my exposure all the way up, I'm gonna bring my exposure down.
Candice, can I just have you hit Command + I, so we can get rid of the overlay of information that's up at the top there?
Yes.
And just see the image at this point. Yeah, thank you.
There we go. I wasn't seeing that. (laughs) Alright, then I'm just gonna click on it and darken it just a little bit Done. Okay. And that was too much 'cause it made like a spot on it. So, I don't like that. So, I'm gonna go back and take that off. Right there. And then I can just click on the brush again and not make it quite so dark. And also I'm gonna make the brush a little bit larger so that the dot is in that inner circle it's like right in the middle, it's actually covering the whole bead. And click on that-- Just see-- And it's better, I can see a little bit more detail now. So, I didn't really change the color, I didn't make it too much darker. I just gave it enough emphasis, so that it will separate out from the background. Okay? And then I'm gonna just sharpen it. And that's what I would do with that image. I'm actually feeling like the wood maybe is a little bit too red. So, I might go into my colors again and take out just a tiny bit of the reds and the oranges. Just desaturate them a tiny bit. And that is it on that image. And then, because the closeup is very similar in lighting and instead of starting from the very beginning, I would just sink those. And it looks way better right? So, if I go down, there was my capture. And there is how it looks. I might darken it just a tad, but otherwise, I don't really need to do very much work it's done. So, super easy. And that's great when you're doing product and then detail and you want them to match. Okay, so let's move on to our next image. (plane whizzes) (laughs) We've got the Blue Angels out there right now. This one's so similar to the last one we just edited. So, we'll move on a little bit. Let's go to the fox. So, I love just sort of clicking through. I'm looking again to see if there's anything I missed, maybe I like something better than when I originally shot it. Maybe I don't. So, I'm always kind of looking for that. I don't know. Let's vote. (audience member laughs) Let's have a vote here. Do we like this one? This one? Or this one? Three? Okay, everyone's voting on three. And I do, but you know what part of it is? It's the light. It was already better in that last image than in the other two. And I can kind of edit that. So, that's something you wanna just think about. I'm looking for the composition, the light's important, but I'm mainly looking for the composition as I am choosing. But we as humans will naturally go to something that is more beautifully lit. So, that's just something to keep in mind. This one's pretty simple to edit because it already had a really clean light. Our white balance was already really nice. I wish that I could fix the crooked print in the back, but if I did that then the pillow would be crooked. And because it's blurred out, it's less distracting than the line of the pillow. But I'm telling you right now lines and images are super important and it's something we forget to pay attention to while we're shooting. But you will definitely see it as you're working on them later so just try and always keep in mind are my lines straight as you're editing;. And again, I just go right into that basic panel. Now here, I like the vignette. I don't wanna take that away. I like that contrast that it added in the corners. Especially because now my product is almost in the middle, so by darkening the edges, I'm drawing everyone's eye to whatever is brightest and that's the actual subject matter. So, I want to leave that vignette that my lens created. So, I'm not going to enable the corrections. I'm going to leave it as it is and this is a finished image and I would go in and export that. Let's look at this one. Okay, I think the last one really was it. We definitely had it right there. I think it's slightly under exposed because really in a little kid's room I wanted it to be as bright and airy as possible before losing detail. So, I'm gonna bring up this exposure. I don't think I quite got it right. And also, the whole thing is just slightly crooked. So, we're gonna fix that. There we go. And then because I made it so bright, I wanna darken up that sheep because it really is black and I want people to know that. And so, I'm just darkening that up. Brightening my highlights a little bit. And I want this one to be more saturated 'cause I like the bright, fun colors. So, I am gonna up the saturation on this. And I am going to sharpen it. And then let's look at what this does. And see on this one love eliminating that vignette. Because I am going for a high key look. So, I don't want to make my corners darker. I want the whole thing to feel bright and light. Now, here's another reason why I want the corners to be brighter than the center. WHY? 'Cause my subject is the darkest thing. So, now I want everything to be light and for my subject to the darkest thing. And now your eye goes to that contrast. So, in the other image, it was the opposite, right? In the other image, my subject was bright and everything else was darker around it. And so, I want it to go darker so my subject stays lighter because my eye goes to that contrast area. And then in this case, it's the darkest, so I want everything else to be lighter, so that my eye goes to that. So, everything I do. Whether it's in composition, whether it's in prop styling, whether it's in editing. Everything I do, is leading the eye to my subject matter. I always keep in my mind that I have that eight point five seconds to tell the person what's most important. And so I do that in any way that I can. So throughout from concept to editing, that is what's in my mind. How do I make people look at my main subject. And in editing, the way I do that is through that contrast and keeping that focus. Whether it be with color, or tonality, or focus, literal focus. That's how I'm keeping their eye where I want it to go. And so, that's why I would choose that and I love this and I would leave it just as it is now. I think it's a beautiful shot that would sell that product.

Class Description

You need great photos of your craft products if you want them to sell online, but just because you are awesome at making things doesn’t mean you are great at taking photos – until now.

In Craft Photography Fundamentals with Candice Stringham, you’ll learn everything a craft merchant needs to know to take photos that really showcase the story behind your work.

You’ll learn about:

Creating affordable, photogenic backdrops and sets

Capturing all kinds of textures

Shooting with an iphone and DSLR camera

Edits that add polish to your final images

Creating a consistent look that makes your brand stand-out

You’ll learn the basics of photo staging and you’ll see how a few simple lighting tricks can transform the look and feel of your final image. You’ll also get tips on working with props so you end up with a catalog-quality shot. And Candice will help you take advantage of your camera’s settings, the easy way.

If you want to produce photographs that are as beautiful as the product you are showcasing, join Candice Stringhamfor the beginner-friendly class, Craft PhotographyFundamentals.

a Creativelive Student

This class taught by Candice was amazing. She teaches in such a step-by-step, easy to understand pace. She shares so much of her own tips and tricks she uses to create beautiful images without spending a fortune or having all kinds of expensive equipment.
Having the DSLR lessons included was really great for anyone who wants to do more than the camera phones are capable of. Learning the basics of how to use a DSLR is confusing for most people, but Candice broke it down in the simplest way possible. Social media is all about imagery, so if you want to put out the most beautiful eye-catching photos, then you want to learn how to use more than the camera phone.
I don't have a business where I need to take photos of things I sell and I still enjoyed her class so much. As a photographer, I am going to use her ideas and insight when I photograph things for fun. There is so much to gain from this class.
I would highly recommend taking her class. She is a wealth of great ideas and information and has that friendly personality of someone you'd want to sit and have coffee with.

yomichaela

A wonderful class to get you going with craft/product photography. Candice provides (and shows) fantastic examples and it's really fun to watch her work through a shoot, moving items, etc. to create the final image. She also covers some basic photography tips which is very helpful. Great class! I definitely recommend to others!

Melinda Malamoco

I loved this class! Candice is so personable, clear and relatable. I would want to hang out with her and be creative! I have been taking pictures for YEARS, and for my Etsy store for over two years, and I still learned a lot in her class. The lessons are set up in a way that you can follow, take what you want and don't worry about what you don't need. I will say that I got a TON of ideas for how to better display my brand, what my personal style is and how to be consistent with it. I so recommend this class for anyone who has small business or just wants to be able to take better pictures of their products. Okay, off to build a prop kit!